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Welcome!
| Welcome to the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University! We are dedicated to advancing natural resource conservation, research, and education in the United States and around the world through our international programs. We offer interdisciplinary degree programs in natural resources, forestry, wildlife ecology, and supporting specialties such as conservation biology, and landscape & restoration ecology. The Department has outstanding, education and hands-on research facilities right on our large campus, including facilities in the Wildlife Habitat Nutrition Laboratory; the Steffen Center Research Facility; The Bear Research, Education and Conservation Center; Colockum Multiple-Use Research Unit; and other greenhouse and outdoor ecological laboratories. |
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These campus resources, coupled with a faculty and a greater University community dedicated to teaching and research excellence have created one of the strongest programs in natural resource sciences, research, and education in the western United States.
If you too care about the long-term conservation of biological diversity and natural resources, we welcome you to work with us on these important efforts.
Join us! - and help make a difference in the real world!
The NRS Mission: is to advance the fields of natural resource science and conservation of biodiversity by developing fundamental knowledge about ecosystems and natural resources, including their diverse ecological and social values. We also promote the long-term management and conservation of biological diversity and natural resources in an ecologically, socially, and economically sound, sustainable manner.
We pursue this important mission: through several interdisciplinary programs in undergraduate and graduate education, basic and applied ecological research, and extension and continuing professional education. Our programs:
- Promote stewardship of natural and productive landscapes, and natural resource, and ecological systems;
- Contribute to maintaining sustainable ecosystems for biological diversity, food, fiber and other valuable natural resources; and
- Promote the well-being and quality-of-life of communities in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the world.
Our programs reflect the breadth of disciplines and professions driving contemporary natural resource science, including forestry, wildlife ecology, and supporting subject areas in both the ecological and social sciences, such as conservation biology and landscape and restoration ecology. Our professional programs benefit greatly by strong collaborative agreements with public and private landowners and state, regional, national and international organizations concerned with natural resource and environmental issues. Our programs also demonstrate our strong dedication to supportive and positive working and learning environments that reflect and foster respect of human diversity in the broadest sense.
Washington State University is unique as the designated Land Grant institution for Washington State. As such, we have three important mandates to our mission: Teaching, Research, and Extension. Our commitment to all three endeavors is strongly represented in our Department as we work to:
- Provide a thorough and challenging education to our undergraduates and graduate students,
- Continuously develop diverse research programs in the ecological, environmental, and natural resource sciences, and
- Transfer our technical knowledge in many different ways for use by the people of Washington state, the United States, and the World.
Our faculty, staff, students, and alumni are firmly committed to offering one of the best programs in natural resource ecology, management, and conservation in the United States. We invite you to explore Washington State University and our Department on this web site and then to come to our campus for a tour to meet our students and faculty first hand. We would welcome the chance to meet you and show you around campus. Please contact us with any questions you may have or stop in for a visit to our beautiful campus.
The Department of Natural Resource Sciences has its first roots in the fields of forestry and range management, and from those early days over a century ago, has now evolved into a large interdisciplinary program in the natural resource and ecological sciences. Forestry courses have been offered at WSU since its beginning in 1892. The Department of Forestry and Range Management was established in 1923. The Wildland Recreation program was established in 1974. Wildlife biology began as a recognized discipline at WSU during the 1930's in the Department of Zoology until 1985 when it officially became the Program in Wildlife Biology. In 1985 the Department of Forestry and Range Management and the Program in Wildlife Biology were authorized to jointly offer a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife and Wildland Recreation Management. The Department of Natural Resource Sciences was formed in 1988 with the merger of the Department of Forestry and Range Management and the Program in Wildlife Biology.
Our Future:
Our Department is filled with a rich history and tradition in natural resources and represents a constantly evolving effort to address contemporary needs in the ecological and natural resource sciences. Today, and in the future, we are concerned about the conservation of biological diversity, preservation and management of threatened and endangered species, and the long-term and sustainable management of ecosystems and natural resources. Please read a welcome message from our Department Chair, Dr. Keith A. Blatner:
Last updated: February, 2006
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